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Jeff Forshaw: quantum computers are leaping aheadhttp://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/may/06/quantum-computing-physics-jeff-forshaw
Quantum computers are ever closer to becoming a reality, and when they arrive they will revolutionise computing power<p>The reality of the universe in which we live is an outrage to common sense. Over the past 100 years, scientists have been forced to abandon a theory in which the stuff of the universe constitutes a single, concrete reality in exchange for one in which a single particle can be in two (or more) places at the same time. This is the universe as revealed by the laws of quantum physics and it is a model we are forced to accept – we have been battered into it by the weight of the scientific evidence. Without it, we would not have discovered and exploited the tiny switches present in their billions on every microchip, in every mobile phone and computer around the world. The modern world is built using quantum physics: through its technological applications in medicine, global communications and scientific computing it has shaped the world in which we live.</p><p>Although modern computing relies on the fidelity of quantum physics, the action of those tiny switches remains firmly in the domain of everyday logic. Each switch can be either &quot;on&quot; or &quot;off&quot;, and computer programs are implemented by controlling the flow of electricity through a network of wires and switches: the electricity flows through open switches and is blocked by closed switches. The result is a plethora of extremely useful devices that process information in a fantastic variety of ways.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/may/06/quantum-computing-physics-jeff-forshaw">Continue reading...</a>PhysicsComputingMathematicsResearch and developmentScienceTechnologySat, 05 May 2012 23:05:33 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/may/06/quantum-computing-physics-jeff-forshawBritton/NISTA crystal of beryllium ions confined by a large magnetic field at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology's quantum simulator. The outermost electron of each ion is a quantum bit (qubit), and here they are fluorescing blue, which indicates they are all in the same state. Photograph: Britton/NISTBritton/NISTA crystal of beryllium ions confined by a large magnetic field at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology's quantum simulator. The outermost electron of each ion is a quantum bit (qubit), and here they are fluorescing blue, which indicates they are all in the same state. Photograph: Britton/NISTJeff Forshaw2012-05-05T23:05:33Z